Letter to the Editor

Dear Publius,

Re: People getting out a notebook and keeping track of how a Councilor voted on an issue.

They shouldn’t have to.

The Open Meeting Law requires that that information be kept as part of the minutes.

I have an Open Meeting Complaint on this in the process now.

The minutes are also supposed to contain who attended the meeting and a summary of what the discussion was on each agenda item, as well as the outcome.

I got a tepid response to my public records request.

Continue reading “Letter to the Editor” →

Mayor Refusing to turn over Personal E-mails used for Public Business

State’s Keeper of Public Records Gives him Ten Days to Comply

What is he Hiding?

By Josh Resnek

The mayor has been ordered by the state’s keeper of public records to turn over all his private e-mails which relate to city business.

Speculation abounds about who and what exactly the mayor has been communicating with using his private e=mail doing the city’s business.

His unwillingness to turn over his private e-mails used for city business has led to speculation that he may have something to hide.

Under federal and state law, it is illegal for the mayor or for any elected public official to use their private e-mail to conduct city business.

Setting off this action was a request from the regional media outlet MassLive.com for the mayor’s private e-mails.

The city failed to provide MassLive.com with the private-mails. MassLive appealed to the state.

A state supervisor of records told Everett officials that the mayor and

several city councilors using private emails for government business must turn over those records to the City Clerk Office as they are public records.

Continue reading “Mayor Refusing to turn over Personal E-mails used for Public Business” →